Ukraine may expand Russian-controlled area by removing bridges

The Sim River flows west through the Kursk Oblast in southeastern Russia – about 300 square miles of territory lies between the river and the border with Ukraine.

Shortly after a strong Ukrainian force—consisting of half a dozen brigades plus independent battalions and support units—crossed the border into Kursk on August 6, the Ukrainian army and air force began targeting bridges over the Sim River. So far, they have destroyed three of them.

The Ukrainians are clearly trying to isolate that area of ​​Kursk, which lies to the west of the 300-square-mile invasion zone, partly bounded by the Sim River.

It is clear Why?“The strikes on bridge crossings over the Seme River and the advance of the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ forward units to the western bank of the river… indicate that the Ukrainian Defense Forces’ goal is to take control of the part of the Kursk region south of the Seme,” according to the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies. It has been explained..

The Russians are determined to prevent that from happening. They are building new Bridges are almost as fast as the Ukrainians are destroying them. old Temporary floating bridges are more vulnerable than permanent bridges.

The first bridge collapsed on Friday. Ukrainian rockets, reportedly fired from U.S.-supplied high-mobility artillery rocket launchers, caused the concrete bridge across the Seim River to collapse in the town of Glushkovo, 26 miles west of Sudzha, the center of the Ukrainian invasion.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian Air Force bombed a second bridge over the Seim River at Zvanoye, seven miles west of Glushkovo. The third bridge, at Karez, west of Zvanoye, was destroyed on Monday.

Russian engineers responded quickly. They built a pontoon bridge over the Seim River near Glushkovo on Friday and another bridge between Glushkovo and Zvannoye by Saturday.

A floating bridge is not as sturdy or as wide as a permanent bridge, but it is practical when the alternative is to cross a river – and only in vehicles with amphibious capability.

The problem here is that it is much easier to destroy a fragile floating bridge than a concrete one. If the Ukrainians have amassed enough surveillance and strike assets to destroy three permanent bridges in four days, there is probably no reason why they should not destroy any temporary bridges that may appear in the same area.

In fact, it appears they may have already hit one of the floating bridges. Data from NASA satellites that monitor heat through the Fire Information System for Resource Management indicates that something is burning At the site of one of the temporary dividers on Monday.

It is not yet clear how many additional bridges — permanent or temporary — Ukrainian forces would have to destroy to effectively isolate that large swath of the Kursk region adjacent to the current invasion zone.

But they are likely to have made significant progress. A quick look at commercial satellite imagery suggests that the three permanent bridges the Ukrainians built between Friday and Monday marked a turning point in relations between the two countries. only There are several major permanent bridges in the area. It is likely that the Russians now rely entirely on pontoon bridges to cross the Sim River.

sources:

1. Center for Defense Strategies: https://cdsdailybrief.substack.com/p/russias-war-on-ukraine-190824

2. Mark Krotov: https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1ZD-YrVB91qrF3EaagUOs7ur6Byj7YfE&femb=1&ll=51.3331207627457%2C34.66600660943696&z=11

3. Mykola Oleschuk: https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1825072607051354571

4. Oliver Alexander: https://x.com/OAlexanderDK/status/1825577453299053035